An oil on canvas painting, attributed to Mattheus van Helmont (1623-after 1685), “The Village Feast”, depicting a musician standing on a barrel and playing the bagpipes among a raucous crowd if diners and couples dancing. The painting is unsigned.

About the artist: Mattheus van Helmont (1623 – after 1685), was a Flemish painter specialized in genre scenes of interiors and village scenes.  He was influenced by the style of David Teniers the Younger and Adriaen Brouwer and developed his own personal style towards the final phase of his career.  He spent most of his active life in Antwerp but moved to Brussels later.

Mattheus van Helmont was born in Antwerp where he was baptised on 24 July 1623. Mattheus first joined the Antwerp Guild of Saint Luke as the son of a master and in 1645 he became a full master in the Guild.

His paintings of Italianizing market scenes and fairs suggest that he possibly visited Italy but there is no documentary evidence to corroborate such trip.  He had a large output but got into debt, supposedly due to his unruly character and frequent involvement in brawls.  This caused him to leave Antwerp and settle in Brussels in 1674.  He was forced to leave many paintings with his creditors in Antwerp. He joined the Brussels Guild of Saint Luke in 1674.

Mattheus van Helmont is known for his large output, which is generally signed or monogrammed, but rarely dated.  His known works can be dated to the period from 1638 to 1670.  He was a genre painter and specialized in painting interior scenes with peasants, alchemists and craftsmen at work, tavern interiors, village scenes and kermesses.  He also painted singeries, a genre popularized by David Teniers the Younger and depicting monkeys appearing in human attire and a human environment.

Whereas most of his village scenes depict Flemish villages, he also painted scenes of Italian villages.  He further produced still lifes.  He is known to have contributed staffage to the landscapes of Jacques d'Arthois.
 
Van Helmont was stylistically and thematically influenced by Adriaen Brouwer, David Ryckaert III and David Teniers II.  In the final phase of his career his style became more personal.

This painting measures 19.88” x 25.98” and overall with frame measures approximately 24 3/4” x 30 3/4”. The painting has been relined and professionally cleaned and varnished by Baumgartner Fine Art Restoration in Chicago. The painting is ready to hang.

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